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Whitney
Whitney is an American television sitcom that aired on Syndication from September 22, 2011 to March 27, 2013. The series had a total of 38 episodes. The series was cancelled on May 9, 2013, after two seasons. Summary Set in Chicago, Illinois, the series follows Whitney Cummings, as she portrays a fictionalized version of herself, and her very supportive live-in boyfriend, Alex. Even though the two of them have decided that they will not commit to marriage, Whitney does question how committed they are in their three-year relationship and tries to go as far to prove a point. Whitney begins to fear what she sees as "relationship boredom" and worries what will happen next that could possibly end their relationship. Because of what she sees and hears around her involving other relationships, Whitney uses unconventional methods to keep the romantic flames glowing with Alex, often seeking the help of her close friends. Cast * Whitney Cummings as Herself * Chris D'Elia as Alex Miller * Rhea Seehorn as Roxanne Harris * Zoe Lister-Jones as Lily Dixon * Dan O'Brien as Mark Murphy * Maulik Pancholy as Neal (Season 1) * Tone Bell as R.J. (Reginald José) (Season 2) Season overview Production Development "Whitney" was one of two network television shows created by Whitney Cummings to premiere during the 2011-12 United States television season. The other (which she shares creator credit with Michael Patrick King, and does not star in) is the Syndication sitcom "2 Broke Girls" (which is produced by Warner Bros. Television). For the series, Whitney Cummings serves as the executive producer, creator and writer with Scott Stuber, Quan Phung, and Betsy Thomas for Universal Television. Beverly D'Angelo originally played Patti, Whitney's mother, in the pilot episode before being replaced by Jane Kaczmarek, with parts of the pilot being reshot as a consequence. The tabloid, New York Post reported that Cummings received $60,000 per episode for the first three episodes, and was to receive a salary increase after the show ordered for a full season because of good ratings. Syndication moved "Whitney" to Wednesdays beginning on January 11, 2012. On May 11, 2012, Syndication renewed the series for a second season, which was to premiere on October 19, 2012. On October 8, 2012, the premiere date for "Whitney" was delayed by Syndication to give it proper marketing. On October 18th, Syndication announced it would air the season two premiere would air on November 1st. After the poor critical reception of the show upon its debut that was largely directed at Cummings herself, the producers of "Whitney" changed the direction of the series to a more ensemble-like show in the style of "Friends" to reduce the pressure on Cummings, who was also experiencing personal troubles; at the time, Whitney's mother had suffered a stroke, and her sister was entering rehab. Wil Calhoun replaced Betsy Thomas as showrunner for the second season. Additionally, Maulik Pancholy did not return to the show for the new season as the show focused more on the relationship between the two leads and less on the ensemble cast as seen in the later part of the previous season. It was also announced that Syndication "Stand Up For Diversity" winner Tone Bell would join the cast as a character named "RJ". On November 9, 2012, Syndication ordered five additional scripts for the television series, but only picked up three, increasing its season order to sixteen. Reception "Whitney" originally premiered to mixed reviews from critics, with Cummings herself receiving criticism in online articles and reviews for the series. The first season holds a Metacritic score of 49/100. The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum suggested that Cummings was 2011's "sexy-girl hate magnet", experiencing a disproportionate amount of attention for being successful as well as attractive. An example of this saw Andrew Goldman of The New York Times asking Cummings in an interview if she had slept her way to success. Much criticism was also aimed at what was perceived as an overly aggressive ad campaign for the show by the network. The critics also found issue with the content of the ads, which were described as "regressive" and "old-fashioned". Upon its debut, the pilot episode of "Whitney" received mixed reviews, holding a score of 49 out of 100 on the review aggregator Metacritic. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times found that the episode was the funnier of the two shows by Cummings debuting that season because the humor was more original. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times found that despite some missteps, the series was promising, writing that "eventually the mood relaxes, even as the slapstick amps up, and what may prove to be a charming comedy begins to emerge." Other reviews found the series to be a retread of past sitcoms, with dated jokes. The Huffington Post called the series uninspired, and found many of the characters to be tenuous at best. The premiere was given a D− by The A.V. Club reviewers Erik Adams and Steve Heisler, who highlighted the weakness of Cummings' acting. As the series progressed, some reviewers remarked about improvements in the show. Willa Paskin of Salon found that the series improved structurally from the eighth episode, while the chemistry of the two leads was brought to the forefront; however, she still found that the jokes were not good enough. Jaime Weinman of Maclean's agreed with Paskin, additionally noting that the series depicted a more realistic relationship compared with other freshmen sitcoms such as "New Girl". Stephan Lee, writing for Entertainment Weekly, compared "Whitney" favorably to Cummings' other series, "2 Broke Girls", citing what he perceived to be an increasingly stronger and more multidimensional supporting cast in the former. Jesse Fox of Splitsider found that the series began to find its footing as it progressed from its pilot and misleading initial ad campaign. External links * Whitney on Fandom * Whitney (TV) on Wikipedia Category:2010s television shows Category:2011 debuts Category:2013 endings Category:Concluded series Category:2011 Category:2012 Category:2013 Category:Syndication